He faces 6 years in prison Man sprays giant penis on world heritage site in Peru

Oliver Kohlmaier

13.5.2025

The Chan Chan World Heritage Site near Trujillo in Peru.
The Chan Chan World Heritage Site near Trujillo in Peru.
imago/teutopress (Archivbild)

"Serious disregard for our history": In Peru, a man spray-painted a giant penis on a historic world heritage site.

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  • A young man in Peru has defaced the Unesco World Heritage Site of Chan Chan with obscene graffiti.
  • According to the Peruvian Ministry of Culture, the vandal now faces up to six years in prison.
  • In a video circulating on the internet, a young man with a rucksack can be seen spraying a huge penis on a wall of the more than 600-year-old fortress.

According to the authorities in Peru, the Chan Chan UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is popular with tourists, has been defaced with obscene graffiti. The Peruvian Ministry of Culture announced on Monday that the crime took place at the weekend. It represents "a serious disregard for our history and cultural heritage as well as a violation of the regulations for the protection of archaeological sites". The vandal faces up to six years in prison.

In a video circulated online, a young man with a rucksack can be seen spraying a huge penis on a wall of the more than 600-year-old fortress.

Center of the Chimú empire

Together with the Inca site of Machu Picchu and the ancient city settlement of Caral-Supe, Chan Chan is one of Peru's most popular archaeological sites. Chan Chan was the center of the Chimú empire, which extended along the coast of present-day Peru to Ecuador between 900 and 1450 AD, before it was incorporated into the Inca empire.

The citadel of Chan Chan was built on an area of around 20 square kilometers, had ten palaces and was home to around 30,000 inhabitants in its heyday. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.